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Ireland put India on notice with exciting victory over England

Bangalore: A sensational victory over England emboldened minnows Ireland to put co-hosts India on notice in their next Group B encounter on Sunday in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

‘This dramatic victory has given us more confidence to play the next match against India with full potential. We will have to win every match hereafter if we have to move into the second round,’ an elated Irish skipper William Porterfield told reporters here on Wednesday after beating England by three wickets chasing an imposing 327 runs.

Terming the win historic that would bring lot of smiles back home, Porterfield said on Wednesday was the greatest day in their life because of the best performance they had up against a fancied England.

‘We believed in ourselves and Kevin O’Brien was brilliant. We knew that we are capable of winning. Alex Cusack and John Mooney too chipped in and credit to the lads for their tremendous effort,’ Porterfield asserted.

Though the target (of 328) looked daunting, especially after he got out on the very first ball with no score on the board, Peterfield said he sensed victory after O’Brien and Cusack put out a fighting 162 partnership for the sixth wicket and believed that the other batsmen could chase down the winning post in the same spirit.

‘We had done well in the warm-up games. We had nearly chased down 300 against New Zealand and believed in ourselves that we can chase down 328 today,’ he recalled.

Giving full credit to O’Brien for turning the match in their favour with the fastest century in the World Cup, Porterfield said though the team had won a great game, they had a long way to go to qualify for the quarterfinals, as they have to maintain the winning momentum.

(source:sify.com)

‘We have played a great game and won. That’s not enough. We are hoping to repeat such performances and stay in the race for the quarterfinals. We want to qualify for the quarterfinals,’ Porterfield said.

O’Brien, who bettered by 16 balls former Australian opener Matthew Hayden’s World Cup fastest 100 off 66 balls against South Africa in 2007, said he was speechless.

‘Not being able to believe it. I am quite speechless and yet to sink in. I got a bit of luck and things went my way. If we had gotten out soon, it would have been a boring game for the supporters and so I decided to chance my arm, it paid off,’ an upbeat 26-year-old O’Brien said after posting 113 off just 63 balls with six sixes and 13 boundaries.